John and Justice's Struggles
by ShadeKitteh301
Summary: Okay. I'm stuck on everything else and I have found my notes and my limited edition of Halo:Reach and with it the journal of Dr. Catherine Halsey! So I'm going to revise this entire story and make it a whole lot better and more believable. I hope you enjoy! Kitteh 01
1. Chapter the First

My name is Justine. My freinds always call me Justice though. My freinds and I. Well...We're not like you. We were taken at a young age and. Well. I guess it'd be easier if you knew the whole story. Keep in mind I've never been much of an artistic writer. I'll tell it as best as I can recall. Here goes. My brother and I were taken together...

Chapter 1

July 21, 2517

"Let me go!" I screamed as the woman flash-cloned my brother and I. He tried to break free but wasn't able to. We were only six. I looked to the woman who called herself Dr. Halsey.

"No can do little brat." I looked to the man who was holding my wrists and then back to the Dr.

"Let us go." I looked to my brother. He sounded so confident. I pulled against the mans iron grip and glared at Halsey.

"I'm so sorry." I heard the genuine tone of sorrow in her voice as she turned and walked away. She sent the clones of my brother and I away and the men holding us lifted us up and threw us into the back of a warthog. I looked to my brother and whispered.

"Where are they taking us John?" He looked at me and smiled reasuringly.

"I don't know. But we'll be safe as long as we stick together." I looked back to our home, which was growing smaller in the distance.

"Will we ever come home again?" He looked to his feet. I knew the answer. We'd never see our family and freinds again. And John would never see Parisa again. Parisa was his best freind, who he kept making silly promises to. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.

Usually people would be asking what we looked like about now. We're average height for our age. But John is a little bit taller than me. I have long blond hair that stops at my waist with soft blue eyes. My face is heart shaped and I have a small scar over my eyebrow. John has black hair and a squared jaw. His eyes are more of a grayish color. He's overconfident at times, while I'm usually the kind of girl you'd see hidden away in the back of the room. We don't stray to far from each other. Like most twins. Yeah we're twins. He was born on New Years Eve and I was born New Years day. One hour apart. Unlike most twins we don't argue about who's older. We're part of the same minds at times. And there are times when I can tell if he's hurt. The day I got the scar over my eyebrow, he wouldn't leave my side. He had felt my pain. If I look close enough I swear that I see a similar mark over his eyebrow. Even though he was never hurt.

I felt someone lifting me up and opened my eyes. I saw a man carrying me towards a frigate. He had a kind face and didn't grab my arms like the other man had. He set me down inside the door and I stood, looking around for John. We have this knack for finding each other. And it makes hide-and-go-seek very boring. I walked through a few doorways with the man following me. I had seen his name tag, Keyes. I looked back at Keyes and then to a door in front of me. It opened and I saw my brother sitting at a table with other kids around it. I walked over and sat beside him, glancing to the other kids. Less than half were girls. There were three-hundred of us there in that small frigate. But we made the most of it. We were all between the ages of five a seven.

I felt a small bit of excitement as we learned we were headed towards Reach. I had always wanted to visit it. But it was so far from Erodanus-one that we couldn't at that time. Rebels kept attacking civilian ships and occasionally U.N.S.C. ships as well. We made a slipspace jump that left some of us dizzy. A couple of kids giggled at the funny feeling. I felt the ship dock a little while later and we were lead into a building that seemed boring and dull. I followed Keyes and John walked beside me. I saw Halsey with a clipboard in her hands. She was writing on it. No, she checked off our names as we walked past. I walked through the door and into a large open room with a table in the center. Off in a corner was a shelf of books. Adults milled about the area, casting us glances and whispering a name among each other: Orion two.

I had no idea what and Orion two was and was about to ask when Halsey walked ahead of us. "Alright children," She tried to make her voice as emotionless as possible as she addressed us. "you are to begin training imediatly."

"Training for what?" I managed to make my voice seem cold and filled with hate. It wasn't that hard to do. She looked at me and then back to the others.

"For your futures." With that she turned and walked out, leaving us with the adults murmering to each other. Keyes walked in front of us and lead us to a large open gym area. I looked at the ropes hanging from the metal beams, high above, and past them, the clear, crystal blue sky. Razor wire was strung out along the ground, just low enough that one would have to crawl to get past it undetected. A group of marines was standing at a gun-range and testing an assortment of weapons.

I noted the difference in recoil. I watched one of the marines as she turned and watched us. She smiled slightly and waved us over. "You kids the Orion twos?"

"Yeah. I guess we are." John looked around and then back to the marine.

"Could you explain why we're here?" I looked to the gun in her hand and she followed my gaze. She lifted it.

"You know what. I'm not sure why you're here." She turned back. "You kids are gonna have to train with these." She handed me the one that was beside her.

"What's this one?" It was the same as the one in her hand.

"It's a battle rifle. Tri-burst per every shot." She showed me how to hold the gun and I fired off the first three rounds. It kicked against my shoulder and barely missed the center of the target. "Nice shot kid."

I held my shoulder and rolled it. I noticed John holding his shoulder as well. The marine noticed him and raised an eyebrow. "He hit his shoulder or something?" I shook my head.

"We have a connection. Like some twins do." I winced and walked to stand beside him. She nodded and then Keyes walked into the room.

"Come on kids." We followed him and I stayed close to John. My shoulder felt slightly numb and I was willing to bet his was numb as well. Even though he hadn't shot the gun. We followed Keyes as he walked through a series of doors. He led us into a room where Halsey sat. She looked at all of us, her eyes lingering on my brother and I.

"I really am sorry." She said.

All rights belong to Bungie, Microsoft, 343 industries and all others. I do not claim any rights.


	2. Chapter the Second

Chapter 2

September 28, 2517

We were forced to stand in a long line. All 300 of us were. 082 (never really got to know her name) was ahead of me and resisted as they tried to place her in the barbers chair. She hit the barber in the arm and caused him to drop his shears. She leapt from a chair and ran towards the door. We all cheered her on. Three attendants pinned her down while the marines tried to make sure we didn't ecsape.

Halsey walked in and looked to the barber, who had finally shaved 082s hair off, and he turned to her.

"Damn it! I've seen feral cats squirm less...and leave fewer claw marks." He rubbed a long set of scratches on the side of his face. He turned to me and waved me forwards. I took a step back and glared at him.

"No." He reached out and grabbed my wrist. "No!" I ripped my hand free and kicked him in the knee. He fell and I ran as fast as I could. I had to find a ship to sneak onto so that I could get back home. I tripped and hit my shoulder on the ground. I stood quickly, right as Halsey walked into the hallway.

"And where do you think you're going?" I took a step backwards,

"I like my hair the way it is." I had it pulled back in to a braid and then twisted around into a bun.

"Come on 118. You need to have your hair cut." I shook my head.

"No. No one will touch my hair." I looked to the left of me and saw an open door. I dove through it and slammed it shut. Big mistake. I walked right into the middle of an ONI meeting. I looked around saw a door across the room. I ran towards it but was caught by a tall man who had been standing in the corner. I attempted to wriggle my way free but wasn't strong enough.

Halsey opened the door and looked to the older man sitting at the table. "So sorry Admiral Whitcomb. I should have kept a better eye on her." I used the moment when the marines grip relaxed and jabbed him in the gut with my elbow. He doubled over and I ran towards the door. Only to be stopped by the Admiral.

"It's alright Halsey." He crouched down in front of me and looked at me. "Why were you running?"

"They wanted to cut my hair." I reached up and touched the braid. Hairs were coming loose so I pulled the hair tie out and shook my hair loose, pulling it back into a simple pony tail. "I won't let them."

"I wouldn't let them either. What's your name?" I was beginning to trust the Admiral.

"Justine sir." I smiled slightly and he thought for a second.

"That's really close to Justice. I like it." He stood and looked to Halsey.

"I'm sure you can make an exception. Just for now." Halsey nodded.

"Yes sir." She turned and walked out with the barber following. I followed after her and saw John standing outside the door. His hair had been cut already. I told him what had happened. He laughed and I leaned against the wall beside him.

"Nice. So now you have a freind in ONI." I nodded and watched as the other Spartans walked out. We followed them and soon arrived in the barracks. I pulled my hair back into a bun and put on a hat. I sat on my bed and grabbed a pencil and paper. I began to draw and soon found the image looking like a wolf I had seen one summer back home. I folded the paper into a plane and threw it to John. He caught it and looked at the picture. He turned to me and gave me a thumbs up. He folded it up and threw it back. Jorge caught it. His reflexes were something else. He unfolded it and looked to John, who pointed to me.

I looked down and turned a bright shade of red. Only my brother had ever seen my drawings. I looked up and Jorge was walking towards me. He handed me the paper and I placed it with a few other drawings of mine. "You're an artist?" I nodded. "Cool." Roll call sounded and the boys went to their barracks. The girls stood and saluted as one of the marines walked past. She walked out after inspection. I laid back and soon fell asleep.


	3. Chapter the Third

Chapter 3

September 27, 2520

Tragedy struck us. One of our handlers was training 137 and used to much force when he pinned her down. She transfered his weight and threw him against a wall. I heard a crack and then saw him fall to the ground, unmobile. I walked over and placed two fingers just under his jaw. I felt nothing.

The only thing we can be grateful for was that he died swiftly. She was crying outside our barracks afterwards. CPO Mendez spoke to her and managed to calm her down. Even when she returned to us she was still shaken by the events.

"I didn't mean to." She sat beside me and I faced her.

"It's alright. It'll be fine." Her name was really Cera. "He shouldn't have used so much force against you." She nodded slightly and soon fell asleep. I walked back to my bed and fell asleep instantly.

July 14, 2523

I stood on the old cedar stump and listened for any footsteps. We'd be heading out to get Tango Companys flag. I was with Fred and Linda. We were blue team for this mission. I held the sniper rifle in hand and saw Blue team walk out. I leapt down and joined them. We walked to the tree line at the edge of the forest and hefted out rifles. I saw the truck a little while later that was carrying John and the others. I waited for the signal. I looked at my watch. It read 0455. Five minutes until the distraction would start.

Soon we heard and saw the stun grenades detonate and I raised my rifle. After the other two had each gotton one per person I was ready. One man turned and fired off a single round, narrowly missing Johns head. I aimed and hit him right in the chest. He fell back and John grabbed the flag. He and the rest of the Red team ran as fast as they could. They ran trough the fence and we followed them through the trees. It wasn't to hard to do. Blue team reached the clearing and ech took a spot around the clearing. I was placed high in the tree next to Red team. I looked down and smiled slightly. I heard no footsteps so I grabbed a nearby acorn and dropped it on my brothers head. He looked up but I was perfctly blended in with the tree. After a second I moved enough that he noticed me. I smiled, not making any sound.

At 0610 we heard a pelican and Fhajad moved forwards. John placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. I raised my rifle and John moved thrity meters away then stood and walked forwards. I raised my rifle and a feather fluttered down, landing right in front of the scope. I moved my eye away and grabbed it. It was a black feather that had a green tinge in the right light. I tied it into my hair quickly and looked through the scope again. I heard John laughing and one of the four marines that had climbed from the pelican glared at him.

"What's so funny kid?" The leading one asked.

"You idiots are all bunched up." That was the signal to fire. I aimed and hit the leader right in his neck under his jaw. The others all fired and the marines fell, paralyzed. One of them managed to fire off a single shot that scratched along my left cheek. I sat and waited for the all clear.

John

The hail of darts struck the marines and they all fell. The one closest to the back fired off a round that was sent flying past Justice. Unless she had moved, she'd have a nice scratch. I whistled the six not sing-song tune that Deja had taught us. Blue team leapt from their trees and Red team walked towards me. Kelly kicked one of the men in the head and took his rifle as well. I looked towards Justice. Sure as I had figured she had a long, deep scratch across her left cheek. She also had a feather tied into her hair that I hadn't seen before.

"_Oly Oly Oxen Free._" Linda grinned and repeated. "All free and in the clear." We sat back and waited for the pelican to come and pick us up.

"CPO Mendez isn't giong to be to happy that we won again." Justice grinned, the scratch giving her face a greusome look. She seemed to remember it and grabbed a medkit and cleaning the blood off. She barely managed to bandage it before 0700. We all took cover again and watched the pelican as it landed. Mendez tepped out and we all stepped out. We walked to the pelican and Sam handed him the flag. He kicked one of the marines sides with the toe of his boot.

"Spartans win. Again." He climbed in the pelican and we left.

Justice

We reached the base and nearly fell from exuastion. We reached our barracks and I fell asleep. I had found out a few weeks before hand that something which lay dormant in John and I's minds had been woken up. We could see glimpses of the future or of the past. It was odd. And that night was the oddest of all.

A lone Spartan was standing in the middle of a battle struck feild. Blood and bodies of other Spartans were scattered around him. They were wearing some odd armor. The lone Spartan knelt beside the body of one other and removed their helmet. Her hair was long and blond and her face was cut and scarred. If I could have screamed I would have. What I saw was me. An odd two bladed sword had been run through my chest and my eyes were open. He removed his helmet. It was John. I found a little happiness in the fact that he had lived.

He closed my eyes and lifted my still body. He turned and looked behind him.

"We've won Justice. I wish you could see it. Humanity will finally be safe again." He walked forwards, seeming to stumble as he did before he fell to his knees, making sure not to drop me. His voice was a small murmer. "I'm all alone. My family is all gone." He bowed his head and then looked up as a pelican flew overhead. It landed near him and a woman I didn't recognize stepped out.

"Are you alright sir?" He shook his head and looked around at his former team before standing and walking towazrds the pelican, dropping his gun on the ground as soon as he stepped aboard.

I opened my eyes and sat up. I was shaking and I heard someone say it was time to get up. I stood and walked out. My brother ran to me and I noticed his face was pale. I could feel that mine was as well. He whispered in my ear.

"Did you see it as well?" I nodded and turned to him.

I shivered slightly and we walked with the others, forcing the color back into our faces. It wasn't long before we forgot about the dream entirely. And it's not easy for us to forget things.


	4. Chapter the Fourth

Chapter 4

August 24, 2524

We were in the middle of a training exercise and we had been rerouted to a new base. I had been caught in the exercise. I managed to escape. But my left leg had been broken in three places. John was helping me walk. I winced as I stepped wrong and hit my leg. We finally reached the Pelicans and I was able to sit. Mendez had given Tango Company hell for breaking my leg. Mainly because it was causing John to limp as well.

Mendez helped us into the Pelican and I leaned back. One of the other Spartans walked past and accidentally hit my leg, causing me to bite my lip. We had learned to force most of the pain from our minds but when this first happened I was sent into a string of swearing and cussing. I didn't even know my vocabulary was that colorful.

I drew my leg as close to the seat as I could and tried to relax. It wasn't easy considering the pain kept on returning. I felt as the palican landed and stood with Johns help. Unfortunatly he was a little unsteady as well. We nearly fell but Fred and Kelly helped us steady ourselves.

"Okay. Let's try not to break any more bones. Okay Justice?" I rolled my eyes and hit Johns shoulder. He laughed and I felt a small bit of the pain in my shoulder. We walked into the new facility and I took a seat as soon as I possibly could.

"So we've got two Spartans out this time?" I looked up as Mendez walked in.

"No. I'll be able to go out on the next exercise. Justice, however, might not." I stood and tested a small amount of weight on my leg. It stung and gave beneath me.

"I'd guess about a week. Then I'll be able to go out." I managed to stand and sit back down.

"You need to rest." I turned to Mendez.

"Yes, sir. I will." I leaned against the back of the chair and heard someone walk in.

"What in the hell Mendez?" From the voice I could tell it was Halsey. And she was pissed.

"I was told to bring them here and so I did." Mendez held his hands up innocently.

"You didn't warn me? I thought they had gotten captured!"

"I was told to find them and bring them here. No side-trips." Mendez stated it in a way that said he didn't know anything more.

"Next time, screw what your told. They're my Spartans and I don't like being left in the dark when it comes to them." Mendez nodded and Halsey walked out.

John

After Halsey left I turned back to Justice. I could feel how much her leg was hurting. The scratch she had gotten on her cheek had turned into a nice scar. It gave her face a dark, menacing look. That combined with her new attitude made it so you wouldn't want to piss her off. She wasn't exactly the most calm-headed of us. She wasn't very hot-headed either. She'd be battle-hardened one moment and then trying to calm an injured freind the next.

"Come on guys. Let's get you to your barracks." I helped Jutice stand and nearly lost my balance as I took a wrong step. Her leg bothered me as well. It had been broken but something else was wrong.

"Sir." I turned to Mendez, "Permission to take Justine to the medical room?"

"Permission granted kid. Make sure she's alright." I turned and helped Justice walk down the corridors and towards the clearly labeled med room. I opened the door and one of the doctors turned towards us.

"Bring her over here." He pointed to a cot and I walked over. Justice was mummbling and about ready to pass out from the pain. It was enough to make me feel dizzy and lightheaded as well. Justice sat and I took a chair near the cot, trying to shove the dizzyness from my head.

"You okay kid?" I looked up and saw a nurse. I nodded and she turned to Justice. I looked at her as well. She had passed out and was mummbling about a sharp pain in her lower leg. "What happened?"  
"Training exercise. She got caught and managed to get away. Unfortunatly something happened and she broke her leg in three places." The nurse nodded and looked to me.

"Get some rest. You look tired. And don't worry. We'll take care of her." I nodded and soon fell asleep where I sat.

Justice

I woke up a while later. Maybe ten hours. I sat up and placed a hand against my head.

"Good morning miss Justine." I looked to my right and saw a young nurse. Due to my splitting headache she looked a little blurry.

""It's a morning alright." I rubbed my head and looked around the room, blinking several times. I finally was able to see after about four minutes.

"How does your leg feel?" I looked at her and stood. I felt wobbly but my leg didn't hurt.

"I don't feel anything." I didn't even feel the movement really. I looked down and was forced to sit.

"The extent of damage was to much. The muscles and bones had been destroyed." I moved the new mechanical leg. It acted like a natural part of my body.

"It moves well. I guess I'll learn to adjust." I stood again and walked forwards. The leg of my jeans hid it quite well.

"Hey Justice. You're walking." I turned and saw my brother.

"Yeah. I guess I am." I walked towards him and he looked to the nurse.

"She's not that fast a healer. What did you do?" So he didn't know.

"I'll explain in a few. Right now I think I need to walk for a bit." I walked past him and to the training grounds without another word. I heard him folloing silently behind and I stepped outside and found the other Spartans there. They turned and all walked over to me.

"Justice! You're not dead." I rolled my eyes and hit Fred in the shoulder.

"Shut up." I had pulled a joke on him once. He had shattered his knee cap and I told him that he hadn't even done anything imortant before he was going to die. He had always worried about acheiving something and then he goofed and thought he was dying.

He laughed and I turned to the others. "How are you already walking?" I turned towards my brother again and pulled the left leg of my jeans u to my knee.

"A robotic leg?" I nodded and looked around.

"At least I'll be in the next training exercise." They nodded and a frown crossed my thin lips. I took a few steps forwards and felt the damned thing lock up. I fell flat on my face and began to curse and swear.

"Try speaking with less color. Okay Justice?" I looked up and saw Mendez walking towards me and then pulling me to my feet.

"Sorry sir. I'm having a hard time adjusting." He nodded and helped me stand.

"You think you're well enough to train?" I nodded and he steped back as I began to walk towards the shooting range. I lifted one of the assault rifles and fired at the target. I hit the bullseye after a few tries and then decided to get on with the rest of my training. Figuring I could work better with the leg once I had been walking for a while.


	5. Chapter the Fifth

Chapter 5

March 10, 2525

I looked around nervously, silently hoping they didn't say my name any time soon. They were pulling a few of us to Halseys lab. Luckily neither John nor I were called today. I sat back and relaxed, flexing my artificial leg. occasionally I'll forget I even have it. Until it locks up again that is.

"What do you think they're doing Justice?" John could tell I was thinking.

"I honestly don't want to know. But I keep hearing some sceintists saying something about augmentations." I sat up in my chair.

"That's basically like experimenting on us." I nodded and rested my chin in my hand. I felt the scar and my finngers traced over it. Again I was lost in thought.

John

I watched Justice run her fingers over her scar and saw her eyes grow somewhat distant. She was either thinking or really bored. It was hard to tell until she moved. She could stay still, with only breathing for motion, for ten hours at least. She was the stillest of all and the third fastest. As well as the sixth best sniper. I had a feeling if anyone at all lived through this procedure it'd be her.

As if she had senced my thoughts she snapped back into reality, glancing over at me. Instead of her saying something about the augmentations she brought up an old subject.

"I wonder how our family is doing."

"As long as they steer clear of the Outer Colonies then they'll be perfectly fine."

"I know, I know. It's just that. Well, I have this feeling that something else is coming. Something much worse than the Outers. Something..." She struggled for the correct word.

"Something strong and dangerous?"

"Exactly. Something that could only be conjured up in a nightmare." I sat back and contemplated her idea. It was possible.

"Maybe. But what makes you think that the Outer Colnies won't have created it?" She glanced to me and shook her head.

"No. It's just a gut feeling." I nodded. I had learned to trust things like this most of the time. Justice was right so many times it wasn't funny.

Justice

They finished calling the names and dismissed the rest of us. Fifteen had been taken. We headed to the training grounds and either trained or relaxed and talked for a bit. I was doing pullups on one of the high bars when I saw a marine walking in my direction. She stopped by the bar and looked up at me.

"Justine 118?" I flipped off the bar and nodded. "Please come with me." I followed her and she led me into Halsey's lab.

"Justice. Good. I need you to help me with something."

"How may I be of service?" She handed me a small chip.

"I know that you are one of the few who have never lost anything before in their life. Besides. You are the best hacker." I looked up from the chip and grinned slightly.

"Alright. Top secret?"

"If anyone else was to know about it we'd be thrown into the Outer Colonies with Military uniforms and no weapons." I nodded in understandment and grabbed my notebook from the bookbag I always had on my shoulder. I inserted the chip and looked it over.

"It might take a few hours so I'll do it tonight after lights out. Unless you need it today." I looked up at her.

"Tommorrow is fine. Unless you can manage to get the information to me without getting caught."

"You got it Dr." I turned and walked out, feeling her eyes on my back as I turned the corner and walked back to the training grounds. I carefully placed the bag under a bush and climbed up a nearby rope. As I had feared John walked over to me.

"What was that about?"

"Halsey forgot her password." He nodded and seemed content with the answer. He wandered off and I leapt down. As the sun began to go down we went and ate dinner. Then we went to our barracks and the lights were shut off. I grabbed my notebook, turned the light to the lowest setting and began to work on the code. After about three hours I had it cracked. I stood and dressed in my black outfit that I had put up for things like this. I snuck out through the door and worked my way through the darker corridors and into Halseys lab.

I opened the door and found her asleep in her chair. I carefully woke her up and she looked at me.

"Did you crack the code?"

"Yes." I handed her the notebook and she removed the chip, plugging it into her computer.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." I turned and walked out, leaving my notebook in case Halsey needed it. I rounded a corner and ran straight into someone. "Uh-oh." I stood frozen in place as the person turned around.


End file.
